Timepiece holder for steering wheels



' July 15 1924.

G. A. BELL TIIS PIECE HOLDER FOR STEERING WHEELS Filed Oct. 21. 1.922

Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STTES GEOIRGE A. BELL, or BELMONT, new HAMZESHIRE.

TIMEPIECE HOLDER FOR STEERING WHEELS,

Application filed. October 21, 1922. Serial E m-596,007.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. BELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belmont, in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Timepiece Holders for Steering Wheels, of which the following'is a specification.

This invention has for its object to pro vide improved means for detachably mounting a watch on the steering-wheel of a motor vehicle, in position to be readily viewed by the operator, and for protecting the watch case so that it is not liable to be defaced.

The invention is embodied in a holder comprising a cup, a spring presser, a confining member, and a clamp, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,. I

Figure 1 is a plan view of a holder embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side View of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure l, and an edge view of a watch mounted in the holder.

, Figure 4 is a plan View of the cup.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the confining member. Y

Figures 6, 7 ,and 8, are respectively, top, end and side views of the clamp.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, showing the lower clamp member inverted.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary section on line 1010 of Figure 1.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

In the drawings, 12 represents a cup adapted to receive a time-piece, such as'a watch 13. The .cup may be pressed, or otherwise formed from sheet or plate metal, and is provided with attaching means for detachably securing it to one of the spokes 14; of a steering-wheel. I prefer to embody said attaching means in a clamp composed of an upper member 15, adapted to bear on the upper side of the spoke, a lower member 16, adapted to bear on the lower side of the spoke, and clamping-screws 17, engaged with tapped orifices in the upper member, and having heads 18, bearing on the under side of the lower member. The upper member is rigidly attached to the cup, as by rivets 19 and 20, one engaged with the body portion of the upper member, and the other with an arm 21, formed on and projecting laterally from said member. Said arm and the portion of the clamping member 15 from which and the confining member 24 inclined relative to the plane of the rim 14 of the steermember to the cup in an operative position,

overhanging the margin of the interior of the cup, said member being formed to confine the watch in the cup and to expose the dial. The cup and the confining member cover and protect all portions of the watch case, against defacement.

The watch case is pressed against the confining member by a resilient presser, which is preferably a volute spring 25, the convolu- ,tions of which increase in diameter from the inner end outward, thelarger'convolution bearing on the back of the case, and being preferably provided with a cushion 26, conveniently formed by a length of soft rubber tubing, slipped upon the outer convolution, The inner end of the spring is preferably secured to the'center of the cup bottom by the rivet 20, the latter being bifurcated, and spread as shown by Figure 3.

The confining member 24 is fastened in the operative position shown by Figures 1,2 and 3, and caused to overhang the margin of the interior of the cup, by means preferably embodied in an ear 28, on the cup, projecting oppositely from the ear 22, and provided with a tapped orifice 29, a clamping-screw 3O engaged with said orifice, and having a head 31, which bears on an ear 32, on the confining member, said ear having a slot 33. The arrangement is such that when the screw 31 is loosened, the confining member may be swung from the dotted line position to the full line position shown by Figure 1, its slot 33 being thus caused to receive the screw 30. When the screw is tightened, its head clamps the car 32 against the cup ear 28, as shown by Figure 10. Provision is thus made for quickly fastening and releasing the confining member, the latter when released, being swung to the dotted line position (Figure 1), thus releasing the watch.

The pendant of the watch case projects clamping member 15 and its arm 21 supports the cup, the confining member and the watch, so inclined that a driver at the steering wheel is enabled to conveniently inspect the dial, as indicated by Figure "2, which shows portion of the wheel rim by dotted lines. The clamp is preferably engaged with the spoke which is at the highest portion of the inclined wheel, when the vehicle is moving in a straight path.

To adapt the clamp to spokes of different thickness, I provide the lower member 16 with ears 16 When the spoke is of maximum thickness, the ears roject downward, as shown by Figure 8. i hen the spoke thinner, the member 16 is inverted, so that the ears project upward, as shown by Fig ure 9.

I claim:

1. A holder comprising a cup having an open mouth formed to receive a watch case,

and provided at one side with anotch adapted to receive the case pendant, an-annula-r confining member pivoted to the cup and adapted to swing in a plane parallel with the mouth of the cup, said member being formed to overhang tlie'margin of a watch case, expose the watch dial, and cooperate with the cup in covering and protecting the case, means for securing the confining memher in its operative position, a spring fixed to the bottom of the cup and adapted to P s the case a ns s i nfining memher, an upper clamping member fixed to the bottom of the cup and formed to bear on the upper side of a steering wheel spoke, a lower clamping member formed to bear on the lower side of the spoke, and means for confining said clamping members on the spoke, the upper clamping member being provided with'an inclined cup seat adapted to support the cup with its mouth, and the said confining member inclined relative to the plane of the steering wheel rim.

21A holder comprising a cup, adapted to receive a time piece", andprovided with ears projecting oppositely from its mouth, a clamping-screw engaged with one of said ears, an annular confining member pivoted to one of the cup ears, and having a slotted extension, adapted to be confined on the other cup ear by said clamping-screw, in an operative position, overhanging the margin of the interior of the cup, means for yieldingly pressing the time-piece against said confining member, and means for detachably securing the cup to a steering-wheel spoke.

8. A holder comprising a cup, adapted to receive a time-piece, means for detachably securing the time-piece in the cup and exposing its dial, and a clamp including an upper anda lower member, adapted to .bear respectively on the upper and lower sides of a steering-wheel, the 'upper member being attached to the cup, and the lower member being provided with ribs projecting from one of its sides, and adapted to be placed either side upward.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

GEORGE A BELL- 

